CPU Air Cooler Roundup: Six Coolers from Noctua, SilverStone, be quiet!, and Cooler Master
by Dustin Sklavos on March 14, 2013 2:40 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Cooler Master
- SilverStone
- cooling
- Noctua
- be
Testing Methodology
If you've been keeping up with our case reviews, our testing methodology for the fans here is going to seem relatively similar in some ways. Our test system may seem a bit unusual in more than a few ways, but stick with me and I'll explain why I put it together and tested it the way I did.
The processor, with its healthy voltage boost and overclock, throws a pretty substantial amount of heat at our cooling system. Testing with an i7-2700K at stock speeds would defeat the purpose; Intel's own stock cooler can handle that, we want to "separate the men from the boys" so to speak.
| Fan and Radiator Testing Configuration | |
| CPU | Intel Core i7-2700K overclocked to 4.4GHz @ 1.4V |
| Motherboard | Zotac Z77-ITX WiFi |
| Graphics | Intel HD 3000 IGP |
| Memory | 2x4GB Crucial Ballistix Sport Low Profile DDR3-1600 |
| Drives | Kingston SSDNow V+ 100 64GB SSD |
| Power Supply | Rosewill Hive 650W 80 Plus Bronze Modular |
| Enclosure | BitFenix Shinobi XL Window |
I needed a case that could produce adequate airflow, handle all of the different cooling systems without much trouble, and did not include any sound dampening features. You might be surprised at just how difficult that was to find, but BitFenix came to the rescue and sent over a Shinobi XL. BitFenix's enclosure didn't get the best review when I tested it, but it's actually ideal for this testbed. I removed every case fan but the front intake, which I ran at 5V to prevent it from affecting acoustics while still providing adequate airflow.
Since a dedicated GPU wasn't needed, one wasn't used. This prevents a graphics card from generating additional heat or noise or deflecting airflow.
Thermal and acoustic test cycles were done the same way as our case reviews. First, the system is left powered and idle for fifteen minutes. At this point the sound level is tested, room ambient temperature is recorded, and idle temperatures are recorded. Then eight threads of small FFTs in Prime95 are run for fifteen minutes, and load temperatures are recorded.
Each cooler was tested using its available presets; the PWM-controlled coolers were tested between 30% and 100% using motherboard control as well as at a constant 100%.
Thank You!
Before moving on, we'd like to thank the following vendors for providing us with the hardware used in our roundup.
- Thank you to iBuyPower for providing us with the Intel Core i7-2700K.
- Thank you to Zotac for providing us with the Z77-ITX WiFi motherboard.
- Thank you to Kingston for providing us with the SSDNow V+ 100 SSD.
- Thank you to Crucial for providing us with the Ballistix Sport Low Profile DDR3.
- Thank you to Rosewill for providing us with the Hive 650W 80 Plus Bronze PSU.
- Thank you to BitFenix for providing us with the Shinobi XL Window enclosure.
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kmmatney - Saturday, March 16, 2013 - link
The test setup was fine to me, and all coolers are measured under the same conditions, which is what is really important. I have an 212 EVO cooling a Core i5 running at 4.3 Ghz. I can't stand any noise, so only have a single case fan, running very slow. I've been thinking about moving my single exhaust fan to be an intake to get positive pressure.Egg - Thursday, March 14, 2013 - link
What about a test bench? I can see where Dustin is coming from regarding not wanting the case fans to affect the test result.JeBarr - Thursday, March 14, 2013 - link
quote " the NH-L12 stands to impress as potentially the most powerful downward-flow cooler on the market."Correction: Noctua NH-C14 or Phanteks PH-TC14CS hold that title.
Thanks again Dustin for another fine air cooler review. Keep 'em comin'!
rhx123 - Thursday, March 14, 2013 - link
I have a NH-L9i and I pretty much got it as a stock cooler replacement, my temps were fine on a i5-3470 but the noise was not.I have a huge phobia of of a large chunk of metal damaging my machine when I move it, but for a multiplier-locked CPU getting a closed loop would be mad.
The NH-L9i is very quiet on idle, and more importantly the fan doesn't have an obvious tonality like some fans do.
jrs77 - Thursday, March 14, 2013 - link
The CM Hyper 212 Evo is still the best cooler, when you take it's price into account. Additionally you can make it even better with a $15-fan like the Akasa Apache PWM, which outperforms the stock-fan in both: noise and airflow. And even with an additional fan you're still paying less then for the other bigger coolers.The AIO-liquid coolers are not really that impressive imho. I've had a Corsair H50 and H60 and an intel AIO-liquid cooler and allthough they showed better temps, the pumps and fans were loud and made irritating high-pitched noises. Not to mention that I had to RMA both Corsair-coolers (the H50 even twice) because the pump made rattling noises.
Also, for the money of them you can get a very good aircooler, performing just as well, especially if you're not overclocking. With regards to that, you should test a Prolimatech Genesis with two silent 140mm fans sometime.
A5 - Thursday, March 14, 2013 - link
To be fair, the H50 and H60 are the two cheapest CLCs on the market. If one is going that route, this testing shows the larger CLCs to be the ones to look at. The "cheap" ones don't really perform appreciably better than the CM 212 EVO and cost 50+% more.HisDivineOrder - Thursday, March 14, 2013 - link
Pumps fail. That's enough for me right there to stay air. Sure, fans fail, too, but with a CLC you have the fans AND the pump at risk of failure. With air cooling, it's just the fan.The difference between those coolers--air and water--is so small so as to be insignificant in day to day usage. The only reason someone should go for water cooling is if they want to break some speed records, but CLC should stay out of mainstream, every day systems.
Imo.
Rick83 - Thursday, March 14, 2013 - link
Is there an error in the noise chart?How can the PWM L9i be louder than the 100% L9i?
Especially, as in the text it doesn't say so.
Would be great if you could fix that.
DanNeely - Thursday, March 14, 2013 - link
Thanks for finally reviewing a Coolermaster 212 series unit; because their ubiquity gives lots of people a known reference point to compare performance with.Could you add a YateLoon fan to your next fan roundup for the same purpose since they're one of the most popular budget 120mm fans?
Beenthere - Thursday, March 14, 2013 - link
Dustin - Again you display a strange and absurd POV on HSFs..."...and if for whatever reason a closed loop cooler isn't on your list..."
Why would any technically astute consumer have a CLC on their "list" of desirable CPU coolers when CLCs are inferior in every typical CPU cooling metric used by consumers, including thermal efficiency, noise, cost and reliability. If you ignore all of the obvious reasons to not buy a CLC and just buy one because you want one or don't know any better, that is fine but no one with a technical clue would buy or recommend a CLC based on merit.